Sleeping Beauty
by Mxya
Summary: AU. After the battle at Hogwarts. This is what could have happened if things were different. Dramione.


"Stupefy!" Hermione yelled. Another deatheater fell to the ground in front of her. It was the final war, the deciding moments, and she was caught in the middle of it all. She didn't know where Harry or Voldemort were, they were probably in another room duelling. She hoped with all she had that Harry was alright.

"Hermione! Look out!" she heard Ron call to her from the other side of the room. She quickly spun around and saw a deatheater, its wand pointed straight at her. The sounds of the war seemed to go silent as she saw the curse it uttered hurl towards her. She was too slow to react and the curse hit her square in the chest, causing her to collapse on the ground unconscious.

~.~

She felt herself slowly come back to life. At least, that's what she thought was happening. She was laying in what she figured was a hospital bed in St. Mungo's.

The war.

That was the last thing she could remember. Ron calling out her name, the deatheater, the curse. '_It didn't kill me??'_ she remembered seeing Fred Weasley lifeless on the floor, along with several other good friends. _'What was the outcome of the war?'_ she thought. She tried to move, or even open her eyes, but it was completely impossible. She heard voices in the room and strained to listen in.

"You may all, one at a time say your final goodbyes." An adult male said. _'Final goodbyes?'_ suddenly she heard a familiar voice close to her.

"Hermione, it's Harry." He said before pausing. There was a sad tone in his voice. "I… I'm really proud of you girl. You were so brave. I will never forgive myself for what happened to you though." She heard Harry sniff and knew that he was crying from the breaks in his voice. "You were such a great friend. You'd never guess, but Draco was a double agent. That's right, Malfoy's on our side. He killed the deatheater that did this to you. He even helped me defeat Voldemort. That's right, he's finally gone. I miss you like crazy Hermione. I already do. And I always will." She tried her hardest to respond to him. To tell him that she could hear what he's saying. But she just couldn't. "Looks like Draco's coming in next. Goodbye Hermione." She heard him leave the room and another person enter. He cleared his throat.

"Hermione I… I don't really know what to say. No doubt Potter… I mean Harry's told you what happened. I guess I could tell you this… I fancy you Hermione. Heck, I thought I loved you. But that doesn't matter now… because you're gone. I-I j-just" there was a crack in his voice and he stopped. Suddenly she felt his cold lips on hers. Despite the coldness, he felt so warm, and sincere. She could taste his tears that had trickled down his face before landing on her lips. He held himself there, surprisingly he was very gentle. She didn't know why, but she yearned to kiss him back. He was, after all, the one she'd admired for some time. She focused all the energy she could on that one task, but still felt as if it was hopeless. Nevertheless, she kept trying. She kissed him back, even if she thought he couldn't feel it.

He abruptly pulled away and she put all of her energy into moving. She thought she felt a small smile spread across her lips.

"Hermione?!" Draco asked. He was obviously surprised. Maybe she had actually kissed him back, maybe she was actually smiling. She felt her breathing pick up as she strained to show him that she was alive. "Hermione?!" Draco repeated. He obviously noticed her breathing increase. She tried her hardest and felt her head turn towards him. But did it actually move? She felt Draco's rough hand take hold of hers and caress it gently. "I must be seeing things." She heard Draco whisper. She frowned and furrowed her eyebrows, somehow being able to move a little easier. She squeezed his hand slightly. "I'd better go. I think I'm going insane. Goodbye Hermione." She felt his hand slip from hers. All at once, she opened her eyes and grabbed his arm. He spun around, absolutely mortified.

"Draco." she panted. Moving was hard work. He looked at her as if she was a ghost.

"Are you… for real?" he asked, not sure whether to believe his own eyes.

"Yes." she whispered and smiled, he turned and yelled at the door.

"Potter! I-I mean Harry! Get the healer!" she watched as Harry, Ron, Ginny and her parents came into the room along with a guy that looked like the head healer. They all let out a gasp and Hermione's mother almost fainted at the sight of her awake. She looked back up at Draco, who for some reason looked worried. Maybe he was thinking about what he said before and the possibility of her having heard it.

"How long has it been?" she asked quietly, sending another wave of shock throughout the group.

"Six weeks." Harry replied. "He was just about to…" she gasped _'Final goodbyes'_ they were about to pull the plug on her. The healer rushed over and checked her everywhere before declaring her perfectly healthy and able to leave the next day. He even pronounced her a miracle.

"How long could you hear us?" Draco asked after some silence.

"I heard everything from when he told you to say… uhh… your final goodbyes." Harry smiled widely knowing that she'd heard what he'd said. Bur Draco looked worried. "Congratulations Harry!" she exclaimed. They all talked about the aftermath of the war. Every once in a while, Hermione found herself glancing in Draco's direction, only to see him looking back at her.

Draco. It was so weird to think of him by his first name. But it was legit… apparently. Harry and Ron even seemed to trust him now.

Eventually her parents left. Then Harry, Ron and Ginny decided to head out.

"I'm going to stay for a bit, explain some things… you know… I've already told you that stuff." Draco told them before they left.

"Alright. Goodbye Hermione!" Harry said; his arm wrapped around Ginny's waist.

"Bye guys!" she said and there was a chorus of goodbyes from the other two. They left and it was just her and Draco. She looked over at him and he looked nervous. He sat down in the chair beside the bed before he started talking.

"I need to explain this to you so you know you can trust me. I know you're probably thinking that me being on the good side is impossible, but-"

"Draco, I-" She interrupted.

"Please, just let me explain this." She went silent and watched him as he explained, looking into his beautiful blue/grey eyes. He, however, refused to give her eye contact and stared at the floor. "When I was little, a couple of months before going to Hogwarts for the first time, I was approached by Dumbledore about becoming a double agent. I obviously agreed, but that meant I had to act the part. I'm pretty sure Dumbledore did something to the sorting hat that first day. So I was acting from day one. I even thought I was good enough to become a muggle actor. That's right, I'm not a muggle hater. I wished with everything that I could just be myself. When you-know-who told me to kill Dumbledore, I had the hardest time. I couldn't, and Dumbledore knew I couldn't. We were working something out when Snape came in and… well… you know the rest." He paused for a second and looked up into her eyes. She was blown away at all of this. "Basically, I am really sorry for all of the things I've done. I hope you'll be able to forgive me. Harry and Ron have. I could get the minister if you don't believe me."

"Draco" she shook her head. "I believe you."

"Really?" he asked, quite shocked. She just nodded in response.

"You definitely were a jerk, but I forgive you." He smiled widely.

"Thank you so much Hermione." She just smiled back but couldn't help but think about what he'd said earlier, when he thought she was in a coma. Her facial expression changed in response to her thoughts, and by the way that Draco sat up straighter, she figured he was thinking about the same thing.

"Hermione?" He whispered.

"Draco." She whispered back. He took a deep breath.

"I really do fancy you. I know that because of all I've done there's no way you'd fancy me but… I just wanted to tell you." He looked away.

"Draco… I admire your courage… and your great acting skills." She giggled and he looked back at her. "I… fancy you to." She took the plunge. A small smile spread across Draco's lips, and it grew. She had never seen Draco smile before. It had only been that smirk on his face since day one. That smirk she now knew was not real. "I would love to get to know the real Draco." Draco coughed; an unmistakable look of happiness on his face.

"Would you be my girlfriend?" he asked.

"Of course." She responded. Their eyes locked together, he leaned in closer and closer until their lips were touching. He kissed her and she kissed him back.


End file.
